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Sam Sawyer Event Video: Now Available

The Hank Center proudly welcomed Sam Sawyer, S.J., editor of America Media, to speak on the topic of depolarization.

Taking place mere weeks before the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the second annual Jesuit Lecture came at a pivotal moment; it responded to the timely opportunity to explore the complex reality of polarization in American society, drawn as it is along political, cultural, and religious lines.

Earlier in this election cycle, Sawyer wrote: "a closer look at the relationship between religion and secularity provides powerful insights about how polarization arises and how it becomes so intractable—and it also helps us imagine how to find a way toward greater unity. The reality of the church as a communion, not just an association of individuals, offers a powerful antidote to polarization. Finding resources within the church’s tradition for a healthier engagement across internal divisions can provide a model for responding to secular forms of polarization as well."

Narratives of worsening levels of divisiveness may seem inevitable the current political climate, but what would hope for a depolarized world and church look like? What unique responses and possible paths forward can be discerned from within the Jesuit tradition? What resources for wisdom and reconciliation?